Google Maps shows non-existent Clean Air Zone alert

Motorists planning to drive into Greater Manchester have reported receiving Clean Air Zone (CAZ) charge warnings on Google Maps - four years after proposals to introduce a restricted area in the city were scrapped.

After searching for their destination, Google Maps users are given information about a CAZ that has never existed.

The alert warns drivers that restrictions are in place all day, every day for taxi and private hire vehicles, with non-compliant vehicles subject to a daily £10 charge. It also contains a link to an article, published in 2021, providing more details about how the scheme works.

The BBC understands Google is aware of the issue and is rolling out a fix.

In 2015, the UK's Supreme Court ordered ministers to take immediate action to cut air pollution.

Greater Manchester's response was drawn up in 2019, shortly after a government report proposed the introduction, from 2023, of a daily charge for users of high-polluting buses, lorries and taxis.

While some cities - including Birmingham and London - did introduce a charge, there was considerable dissent in Greater Manchester.

Plans to introduce a fee were first suspended and then scrapped by the city region's mayor, Andy Burnham.

In December 2023, he unveiled an alternative plan to improve air quality, namely by investing in cleaner transport options.

This was accepted by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who indicated the decision on whether to introduce CAZ restrictions was a matter for "local leaders, based on what's best for their local areas".

Currently, however, the Google Maps warning reads: "Restrictions are active from Monday to Sunday (00:00-24:00).

"Taxi and private hire vehicles with a petrol engine that doesn't meet at least the EURO 4 standard or vehicles with a diesel engine that doesn't meet at least the EURO 6 standard need to pay up to £10 per day to enter."

A ringfenced area, highlighting Greater Manchester in blue, displays the proposed CAZ charging zone to Google Maps users.

The warning also contains a link to an article first published by Manchester World in 2021 - updated in 2022 - entitled "Seven things you need to know about Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone".

The article contains information about CAZ proposals going "back to the drawing board" - and lists vehicles which could be affected by the proposed plans.

Manchester World has been contacted for comment.

The alert is only displayed to users setting a route on Google Maps with a starting point outside Greater Manchester.

No such warning appears when using other navigation apps such as Apple Maps or Waze.

Commuter Nick, 26, from Liverpool, said he first noticed the alert when setting off on his usual route to work from Liverpool to Salford on Sunday, 29 March.

Nick told BBC Radio Manchester he is a regular user of Google Maps - and travels into Greater Manchester frequently - but had not received this alert before Sunday.

"I thought it was weird when I noticed it - it had never come up before," said Nick. "I did a little bit of googling and couldn't find any record of it."

Thankfully Nick said he was aware of the CZA proposals in Manchester having been pulled - meaning he immediately knew the alert was bogus.

But when the message appeared again on his Monday morning commute - on 30 March - he said he became concerned about those Google Maps' users who were not aware that the warning message was inaccurate.

"There will be loads of people commuting in, and this might confuse everyone and catch out a bunch of people who think they might get charged'."

A spokesperson for Transport for Greater Manchester said: "Greater Manchester is taking an investment-led approach to cleaning up the air.

“We have been made aware of an incorrect alert about a Clean Air Zone on Google Maps.

“We have reported this to Google who have confirmed that it will now be corrected."

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